Public Health Emergency Plan 2021

Village of Shoreham
Public Health Emergency Action Plan

WHEREAS, in response to the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, Governor Andrew Cuomo enacted legislation (S8617B/A10832), signed into law September 7, 2020, requiring all public employers to create plans to protect workers in the event of another state disaster emergency involving a communicable disease. In accordance with that law, the Village of Shoreham (the “Village”) has developed the following plan, which shall be implemented in the event of another and any future state health emergency like the COVID-19 health crisis.

1. Levels of Actions
2. Personnel, Health Assessment
3. Education
4. Essential Services/Employees, Remote Working
5. Village Hall
6. Resources
7. Costs
8. Vacation
9. Whistle blower
10. Personal Protective Equipment
11. Public Meetings
12. De-escalation of the Action Plan

1. Flexibility in Application
It is the intention of this policy to provide a comprehensive framework for the continued operation of the Village government throughout a future public health emergency. However, it is recognized that not every scenario can be contemplated in writing, and a degree of flexibility is necessary for this plan to remain a workable document. Therefore, in any event where this plan does not specify a course of action, or in which the plan unclear, the Mayor—or Deputy Mayor, in the Mayor’s absence—shall decide the action, policy or practice needed to address the situation, subject to ratification of the fully Board of Trustees (as necessary) at the next meeting of the Board.

2. Levels of Response
The Village has developed a process to activate levels of response to public health emergencies.  This will allow a coordinated effort and response by the Village.  Determination of the level of action will be made by the Mayor, or by the Deputy Mayor in the Mayor’s absence.          

Level 1:  Active Monitoring
No cases on Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk County)

• Assigned staff shall clean and sanitize common areas daily; including desks, countertops, phones, keyboards, door hardware, restrooms, and other high-contact surfaces.
• Village shall communicate level activation online and/or in written memos to Village officers, employees and residents
• Village shall monitor communications with Suffolk County Department of Health Services
• Village Hall shall communicate to officers and employees to stay home, if sick
• Village Clerk shall monitor illness among Village officers and employees
• Weekly management meetings for updates, held virtually or by phone, if necessary
• Potentially limit all unnecessary work-related travel
• Potentially limit gatherings >50 persons to only essential events or consider postponing essential events

Level 2:  Containment
Cases identified on Long Island (Nassau or Suffolk County)

• Assigned staff shall clean and sanitize common areas twice daily (once in the morning and once in the afternoon); including desks, countertops, phones, keyboards, door hardware, restrooms, and other high-contact surfaces.
• Village shall communicate level activation online and/or in written memos to Village officers, employees and residents
• Village shall monitor communications with Suffolk County Department of Health Services
• Village shall communicate to officers and employees to stay home, if sick
• Village Clerk shall monitor illness among Village officers and employees
• Weekly management meetings for updates, held virtually or by phone, if necessary
• Trustees shall develop additional contingency plans, as needed, and review business continuation plans
• Non-essential employees may work remotely with the Mayor’s approval
• Potentially cancel Village events¹ (the Village will consider whether social distancing or other measures can be implemented to effectively mitigate the risk of infection).
• Potentially cancel all work-related travel
• Potentially conduct Village board meetings remotely, subject to state authorization

Level 3:  Mitigation
Confirmed cases among Village officers and/or employees and/or residents

• Perform a deep cleaning of Village Hall
• Assigned staff shall clean and sanitize common areas twice daily (once in the morning and once in the afternoon); including desks, countertops, phones, keyboards, door hardware, restrooms, and other high-contact surfaces.
• Village shall communicate level activation online and/or in written memos to Village officers, employees and residents
• Village shall monitor communications with Suffolk County Department of Health Services
• Village shall communicate to officers and employees to stay home, if sick
• Village Clerk shall monitor illness among Village officers and employees
• Weekly management meetings for updates, held virtually or by phone, if necessary
• Remote work for all non-essential employees
• Cancel all Village events (scheduled Village events shall be cancelled for the duration of the pandemic, unless it has been medically proven that available mitigation measures will prevent the risk of infection).
• Cancel all work-related travel
• Village will communicate to staff about which employees are to report to maintain services and which employees work remotely
• Conduct Village board meetings remotely, subject to State authorization
• Continue updates to Village officers and employees and to the Community

3.  Personnel
Preventing the spread of illness is a community responsibility and needs to be a priority of the Village.  During state public health emergencies, the Village shall actively encourage all Village officers and employees to practice the following healthy behaviors:

• Frequent handwashing with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds
• Avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth
• Cover coughs or sneezes with your elbow
• Stay home when sick and seek medical attention when necessary
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick or exposed; official social distancing guidelines may provide specific distance for safe interaction
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces such as counters, phones, doorknobs, and light switches, etc.

Employees reporting to Village Hall for work are required to submit a health assessment each day prior to the work shift beginning. The assessment may include a temperature check.

Employees shall notify their direct supervisor and not report to work if they show symptoms of the illness. If the employee has no supervisor, they shall notify the Village Clerk. Each circumstance will be handled individually and confidentially while working within all guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, New York State, and the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. No information concerning the employee’s health status may be shared, except in accordance with all applicable State and Federal laws, rules, and regulations.

The Village will maintain flexible polices that permit employees to stay home to care for sick family members.

Village employees who have contracted the illness and/or have confirmed exposure to the illness shall not report to work, and shall work remotely, if their condition permits. They shall notify their direct supervisor, only, of their status, or the Village Clerk, if they do not have a supervisor. All information must be kept confidential. Employees may return to work once cleared with a dated letter from a doctor or other qualified medical professional stating that the employee is no longer infected or infectious. Upon return to work, the employee shall be restored to their full duties, unless modified duties are medically necessary.

Leave taken in response a declared public health emergency shall not count toward an employee’s sick or vacation time. The Village’s Personnel policy shall be subject to and superseded by any federal or state legislation governing remote work/work-from-home and mandatory sick leave.

Visits to Private Residences

An employee shall not conduct a visit on private property in the Village until they have been properly educated on the target illness, the pathways of infection, and proper means and methods for avoiding infection.

During any visit to a private residence in the Village, whether for a building inspection, welfare check, emergency, or other purpose, all employees present shall take all appropriate precautions to protect themselves and the resident(s) present by wearing appropriate PPE, which shall remain on at all times for the duration of the visit. Additionally, the employee shall take the following precautions before entering the residence:

• Ask whether any occupants of the residence have tested positive for the target illness or have exhibited related symptoms prior to the visit.
• Avoid contact with surfaces and doors within the residence whenever possible.
• Avoid direct contact with all persons in the residence and maintain appropriate social distance at all times.
• Avoid contact with any animals on the premises and ask that they be caged or confined in a separate room for the duration of the visit.
• Limit the number of employees present inside the residence to the minimum necessary, and consider whether the employees can enter and leave one at a time.

Except where an employee is responding to an emergency requiring them to enter a private residence, the decision to enter shall be at the employee’s discretion. Unless obligated to do so, no employee shall be required to enter a residence in which they feel they will be unable to adequately safeguard themselves and/or the residents against risk of infection

4. Education

• Emphasize staying home when not feeling well, educate respiratory etiquette and proper hand hygiene by all employees.
• Instruct employees to clean their hands often with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60-95% alcohol, or wash their hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.Soap and water should be used preferentially if hands are visibly dirty.
• Provide soap and water and alcohol-based hand rubs in the workplace.Ensure that adequate supplies are maintained.Place hand sanitizers in multiple locations throughout Village Hall to encourage hand hygiene.
• Advise employees before traveling to take certain steps.
• Remote working:The Village will attempt to provide non-essential and essential employees the necessary equipment to work remotely when needed. The Mayor, in consultation with the Village Clerk, will determine schedules for departments/employees as necessary (who is in the office and working remotely). A daily/weekly outline will be provided to each employee the expectations of the job duties to be completed remotely.

5.  Essential Services and Employees for the Village of Shoreham:
The Village has identified essential/non-essential workers and essential services that it will maintain during a public health emergency. During a public health emergency, all non-essential workers shall work from home. Essential workers may work from home, if their job performance does not require that they be present in the Village or Village Hall, and if they have the means to perform their job function from home.

Essential services are:

Village Hall:

• Communications to Village officers, employees and residents
• Answer phones and e-mails
• Receive payment of bills
• Taxes, water billings
• Payroll
• Vouchers
• Budget preparation and management
• Cleaning and disinfection of Village Hall

Building/Code Enforcement

• Inspections of current construction
• Code violation emergencies
• Administration of permits

Roads

• Maintain Village storm drains
• Keep Village roads open and safe for vehicular and pedestrian use

Essential employees identified:

Village Clerk – Essential to maintain day-to-day operation of Village
Building Inspector – Essential to perform construction and emergency code violation inspections
Senior Code Enforcement Officer – Essential to perform code violation enforcement and inspections
Village Treasurer – Essential to manage Village finances

Non-essential identified (to work remotely, and on-site when safe and appropriate)

Village Attorney
Village Engineer
Village Historian
Any Village employee not designated as essential

Hours and Locations

Unless the Mayor has declared a Level 3 public health emergency response, and unless an individual’s health status requires otherwise, Village Hall employees shall report to Village Hall for work and shall maintain the Village’s normal hours of operation. During a Level 3 response, essential Village Hall employees shall continue to report to work at Village Hall (unless approved and set up for remote work) and shall maintain such hours of operation as determined by the Mayor.

Contractors

Under the new law, Village contractors are counted as part of the Village workforce. Accordingly, all Village contractors expected to provide services to the Village during a declared public health emergency shall be given a copy of this plan and shall be required to adhere to its requirements—to the extent applicable—whenever they are working in the Village or Village Hall. The Village Clerk shall document each and every contractor who receives a copy of this plan.

6.  Village Hall
The Mayor shall determine on a rolling basis whether Village Hall should be closed to the public. If Village Hall remains open, the Mayor may modify/reduce the hours of operation, as appropriate under the circumstances.

7.  Approved Information Resources

• Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• NYS Department of Health
• Suffolk County Department of Health Services
• Avoid using the news outlets or multimedia sources as a resource of information as they may not provide accurate information

8.  Costs
The Village Clerk and Treasurer shall track costs throughout each public health emergency for possible reimbursement from FEMA/SEMO, or other agencies.

9.  Vacation
Employees shall follow the State guidelines for traveling and adhere by the recommendations.

10.  Whistleblower
The Village will provide an anonymous way to report concerns regarding a declared public health emergency if the employee does not feel they can communicate with their supervisors and/or Mayor or Deputy Mayor.

11.  Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
The Village will maintain at least six months of PPE for all employees and shall store all such equipment in a dry, clean and accessible location.  The Village will follow CDC, NYS and County guidelines with respect to the appropriate PPE for employees’ use.

All PPE shall be acquired in accordance with the Village’s established procurement policies; provided that nothing shall prevent the Village from dispensing with normal procurement procedures in the event of a declared public health emergency.

12.  Public Meetings
The Village will follow the Governor’s guidelines on public meetings.  The Village if possible, will offer in person meetings with social distancing as well as offering virtual meetings for residents/attendees.

13.  De-escalation of the Action Plan
Local conditions will influence the decisions that public health officials make regarding community-level strategies.  The Village will remain in contact with the Suffolk County Department of Health Services and other appropriate agencies to assess the progression of disease severity to determine de-escalation timing and plan.

14. Distribution
The Village Clerk shall provide a copy of this plan to each and every Village employee, each of whom shall provide a written acknowledgment of receipt in return.

This policy does not supersede or replace any language in the Village of Shoreham Handbook, or in any collective bargaining agreement.

 NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that upon motion by ___________, seconded by ___________, the Board of Trustees has adopted the foregoing plan by majority vote of the Trustees taken at a regular meeting of the Board held on ________, 202__.

Voting:             Brian Vail, Mayor:        
                        Sherry Neff, Trustee
                        Laura Baisch, Trustee
                        Edward Brickley, Trustee
                        Mariann Coogan, Trustee

            Filed in the office of the Village Clerk on _____________, 202___.

_______________________

Laura Spillane
Village Clerk/Treasurer